
Field guide
Maldives marine life.
30 species you can meet beneath the surface — what each one is, where to find it across the atolls, and when to go.
Rays5
Sharks11
VUBlacktip reef shark
Carcharhinus melanopterus
Year-round
ENGrey reef shark
Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos
Year-round; best on incoming current
CROceanic whitetip shark
Carcharhinus longimanus
Opportunistic
ENPelagic thresher
Alopias pelagicus
Year-round at Fuvahmulah; best Jan–Apr
CRScalloped hammerhead
Sphyrna lewini
Rasdhoo peak Dec–Mar; Fuvahmulah more year-round
VUSilky shark
Carcharhinus falciformis
Opportunistic
VUSilvertip shark
Carcharhinus albimarginatus
Year-round (current-dependent)
VUTawny nurse shark
Nebrius ferrugineus
Year-round
NTTiger shark
Galeocerdo cuvier
Year-round at Fuvahmulah
ENWhale shark
Rhincodon typus
Year-round in South Ari
VUWhitetip reef shark
Triaenodon obesus
Year-round
Turtles2
Reef fish6
LCBluestripe snapper
Lutjanus kasmira
Year-round
LCDogtooth tuna
Gymnosarda unicolor
Year-round
LCGiant trevally
Caranx ignobilis
Year-round; surface action best NE Nov–Apr
LCGreat barracuda
Sphyraena barracuda
Year-round
ENNapoleon (humphead) wrasse
Cheilinus undulatus
Year-round
LCOriental sweetlips
Plectorhinchus vittatus
Year-round












